History

The U.S. Marshals and the Integration of the University of
Mississippi: Holding Firm

U.S. Marshals historian David Turk said the stress and strain on all
involved parties finally broke loose at about 7 p.m. The scene outside
the Lyceum turned to mayhem. “Angry forces of students and
bystanders confronted the deputies, viewing them as unwelcome agents of
change. The crowd was not adequately restrained by state authorities,
and a battle of bricks and bottles followed. Then the violence graduated
to buckshot and teargas.”

Many of the rioters gathered their stones and bricks from Shoemaker
Hall, a nearby science building under construction. Ray Gunter, 23, an
Oxford, Miss., resident, climbed atop a pile of construction material
with a friend.

When the rowdy crowd turned toward them they both ran for cover, but a
bullet struck Gunter in the head. He died, and authorities never
discovered who fired that shot.

The confrontation between the mob and the deputies raged on. “Stones
were getting larger ... [and there were] some broken concrete chunks
slightly smaller than a football with wire handles attached,” Staple
said. “This
allowed the stronger athletes to throw them completely across the street
— breaking anything or anybody they hit.” Taunts became roars of
disapproval
as violence continued on the rise. Explosive Molotov cocktails were soon
thrown into the mix as some of the rioters cranked their barbarism up a
notch.

Then, some of the deputies were hit with birdshot fired at them by
snipers positioned behind a grove of bushes and trees out in front of
the Lyceum. Former Southern Indiana Deputy Gene Same was shot in the
neck. The deputies were still restricted to shoot back, but an
order finally came allowing them to use teargas on the offenders. This
gained them a little space — and a bit of a respite — but only for brief
periods of time. “They fought with their backs to the wall,” Doyle
said. “One official compared it to the Alamo.”

Added former Deputy Don Forsht, 75, of Miami, “We had a group of guys
who had their act together. They had true grit. They were going to do
their job come hell or high water.” A group of the deputies then
circled around to where some rioters were gathering more stones to
throw. Fighting intensified.

“During this skirmish,” Staplesaid, “they threw anything they had. I was
hit with, probably, a brick. Other [deputies] were also hit. But we
prevailed in routing them and it felt good to fight back for a change.”
Some rioters even commandeered a bulldozer and used it to try and ram
the front of the Lyceum. And twice they attempted the same thing with a
stolencampus fire truck. But the deputies subdued the vehicles with
Magnum rounds.

The earliest backup came from Mississippi National Guard soldiers, whom
the president federalized. These reinforcements were a welcome sight to
the out-numbered deputy marshals, but they were quickly attacked by many
of the rioters.

“The first relief forces from the outside were small in number, and
their leader, Mississippi National Guard Captain Murry Falkner [sic] —
nephew of author William Faulkner — had his arm shattered by a
brickbat,” said Turk.

The chaos continued. There was no end in sight until U.S. Army
soldiers from the Fort Bragg, N.C., Company A, 503rd MP Battalion
arrived just before daybreak.

“In a loud audible voice the [unit’s] lieutenant ordered, ‘Load and lock
and fire when fired upon,’” Staple said. “In unison, the bolts of their
M-1 bayoneted carbines racked back and loaded with one loud, distinctive
metallic sound so familiar to all firearms users. “That seemed to
me to be the decisive point of the struggle for control of Ole Miss.”